The technology relates to a vehicle driving assist apparatus that sets a trajectory of traveling of an own vehicle on the basis of data obtained as a result of sensing a preceding vehicle.
A driving assist apparatus has been known that assists driving of an own vehicle by recognizing lane lines and setting, for example, the middle of a region between the lane lines as a target trajectory of the own vehicle. By setting the target trajectory, the driving assist apparatus allows the own vehicle to travel along the target trajectory. Such a driving assist apparatus recognizes the lane lines that define a traveling lane, such as white lines, on the basis of information on an environment ahead of the own vehicle obtained by means of an outside sensor. Examples of the outside sensor may include a camera and radar both mounted on the own vehicle, and a combination thereof.
The lane lines drawn on a road surface, however, may not often be recognized due to disconnection, fading, or any other factor of the lane lines. The lane lines may not be recognized due to a color, reflection, or any other factor of the road surface as well. To address these, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication (JP-A) No. 2015-210720 discloses a technique that sets, on the basis of lane lines, an “own vehicle traveling trajectory” that serves as a target trajectory of the own vehicle. When a preceding vehicle is recognized, the technique sets a “preceding vehicle traveling trajectory” that serves as the target trajectory of the own vehicle on the basis of a trajectory of traveling of the preceding vehicle.
The technique disclosed in JP-A No. 2015-210720 so performs a driving assist as to allow the own vehicle to travel along the own vehicle traveling trajectory in a case where the lane lines are recognized. However, in a case where the lane lines are not recognizable, the technique so performs the driving assist as to allow the own vehicle to travel along the preceding vehicle traveling trajectory.